Men with good folate levels were less likely to be depressed, omega-3s eased depression in diabetes and Parkinson’s disease, and CoQ10 helped improve mood and reduce fatigue, in several new studies.

In a depression study, doctors measured blood levels of folate in 530 men and women. More than one-third in each group had depressive symptoms. While there was no link between folate and depression in women, men with the most folate were half as likely to have depressive symptoms as men with the lowest levels.

Doctors in a depression study said that type 2 diabetics may become depressed as a side effect of cardiovascular disease complications, and that anti-depressants improve symptoms only in about half of depressed diabetics. The scientists reviewed 17 depression/omega-3 studies and found that subjects with higher omega-3 levels were less likely to be depressed than those with lower levels, and believe that by reducing the chances of cardiovascular disease complications, omega-3s indirectly reduce depression.

Researchers in an omega-3 study gave 29 people, average age 64, with Parkinson’s disease and major depression omega-3 fish oil capsules or a placebo for three months. While there was no change for placebo, 42 percent of those in the omega-3 group cut depressive symptoms by at least half, and depression went into remission for 22 percent.

In another depression study, researchers compared CoQ10 blood levels in 35 depressed people—who had not responded to anti-depressants—to 22 healthy people. More than half of the depressed group had lower levels of CoQ10 than the lowest levels in the healthy group. Doctors also found that those with lower CoQ10 levels were more likely to have chronic fatigue syndrome.

In a related study, researchers compared CoQ10 levels in 58 people with chronic fatigue syndrome to 22 healthy people and found that nearly half had lower levels of CoQ10 than the lowest levels in the healthy folks.

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